Monday, November 22, 2010

Indiana Pacers star forward Danny Granger put up his best overall game of the season. He finished the night with a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double. He also chipped in 6 assists, 3 steals, and a block, though he shot a poor 6 of 21 from the field.

The BreakdownWe anticipated Granger would step his game up this season when we had him ranked in the top five of our preseason rankings, but Granger hasn't met those expectations. The issue is that his scoring is down this year. He's right around 21 points per game, down from his previous two seasons. He just hasn't gotten to the free throw line as often as he has in previous years, which appears to be the reason why his scoring has dipped. Additionally, his number in other categories are about the same as last year, although his rebounding has slightly dropped as well.

Because Granger is not living up to preseason expectations, he appears to be a good buy-low candidate. The numbers we are seeing out of him in the early going are the very worst you'll get out of him. Right now, he's giving us the production of a third or fourth round pick but he still has potential to up his numbers as the season progresses.